Dennis Lam
The Power List 2020 – Power List
Chairman and CEO at Hong Kong C-MER International Eye Care Group Ltd; Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology; Secretary General, Academy of Asia-Pacific Professors of Ophthalmology and Asia-Pacific Myopia Society; and Past President of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and Asia-Pacific Vitreo-retina Society
Your three wishes?
World peace and harmony, health for all; to bring light to the blind.
Piece of advice for your younger self?
Dream big, look for trends and game changers in the future, but embrace them with actions today. Opportunity favors the prepared individual.
Practice kindness every moment of our lives. “We make a living by what we get, but a life by what we give.”
Focus, focus and focus! You don’t have the time to do all that you want, but you do have the time to do the most important things that only you can do – if you do them right, you will make a difference.
The funniest moment of your career?
My relationship with a female colleague of mine took “sublime” to a new level, after a case of acute mountain sickness during a fundraising car relay and free cataract surgery trip to Tibet. We got married one year later and we now have three lovely kids!
The most unexpected turn your career took?
At the age of 30, I was elected the Honorary Secretary of the Hong Kong Ophthalmological Society – a position that allowed me to have opportunities to meet and interact with ophthalmic leaders of the Asia-Pacific region. I was very fortunate to be chosen by the late Professor Arthur Lim to succeed him as the Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, through which I serve not just the Asia-Pacific, but also World Ophthalmology in a number of roles, including the President and Chair of the Organizing Committee of the World Ophthalmology Congress (2008).
